Wireless service providers sometimes provide different coverage areas for communication services and assign different billing rates to the coverage areas. For example, a service provider may provide communications service within a limited coverage area and an extended coverage area. By definition, the extended coverage area affords communication service over a greater geographic region than the limited coverage area. Because of the greater coverage area associated with the extended coverage area, the service provider may charge a premium billing rate for the subscribers communications within the extended coverage area, as opposed to the limited coverage area.
If a subscriber station is capable of operating anywhere in the extended coverage area or in the limited coverage area, the opportunity for subscriber fraud arises. For instance, a subscriber that only pays the service provider for operation in the limited coverage area may attempt to improperly use the subscriber station in the extended coverage area. That is, a subscriber may simply move the subscriber station from its authorized limited coverage area without paying requisite charges to the service provider for operation in the extended coverage area. Thus, a need exists for a method and system for monitoring in what area a subscriber station is operating (i.e., the operational area of the subscriber station) on a wireless communications system.